Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Lin Yue’s pregnancy was very unstable, and Zhi Hong told me an unbelievable secret.

Chu Jue and Lin Yue had known each other before, and their relationship was anything but ordinary.

A plan suddenly formed in my mind.

If I were to rashly harm Lin Yue, not only would I fail to break them apart, but I would also be blamed by Chi Yan if I failed. It would be more loss than gain.

What I needed to do was make Chi Yan love her less-to cause problems in their relationship.

I summoned Chu Jue.

He walked up to me, his expression as cold and indifferent as usual.

“Chu Jue, you have been by my side for some time now. How has Your Majesty treated you?”

He looked up, watching me with a hint of realization. “Your Majesty has treated this servant… extremely well.”

I picked up my teacup and took a small sip. This tea had been personally sourced and prepared by Chu Jue outside the palace. I heard that he rose every day before the hour of the Rabbit to collect the dew from peach blossoms.

It had a faint fragrance of peach blossoms that suited my palate perfectly.

Setting down the teacup and looking at Chu Jue again, I actually found myself hesitating.

Chu Jue truly performed his duties exceptionally well. He was meticulous, thoughtful, and gentle. The charcoal, the household items, the pastries, and the daily meals-he handled almost everything perfectly.

I knew I wasn’t favored, so procuring these things must have taken a great deal of effort.

I never asked him about it because I never cared for such matters, and he never spoke of it either.

I often took my anger out on the servants for no reason. The palace maids and eunuchs around me harbored many grievances and deep-seated resentment; naturally, they couldn’t serve me with their whole hearts.

But Chu Jue always gave his all. If I mentioned lychees, a plate of them would appear the next day. If I said I missed the candied haws from outside the palace, he would secretly bring back a stick, even while advising me not to overindulge in sweets.

I could never grow peach trees properly, but after he took over, he watered, fertilized, and pruned them with care, checking on them every day. I had even told him to give up, saying that my palace was perhaps too full of resentment to grow peach blossoms.

He refused to believe it, watching over them day after day. Sometimes he seemed very weak, a man without ambition who only wanted to survive, but other times he was terrifyingly stubborn.

As a result, that peach tree was now blooming beautifully in the courtyard, covering the ground in a thick layer of petals when they fell.

Chu Jue… was a good person.

And he was one of the few people who treated me well.

“Does Your Majesty require this servant to do something?” His clear eyes watched me without wavering.

“I want you to go and catch up with Consort Xian at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.”

I lowered my eyes. What did it matter if he was a good person? No one in my heart could compare to Chi Yan. As long as I could win him back, I was willing to pay any price.

Seeing his brow furrow as he knelt down in trepidation, I knew Zhi Hong was right. Their relationship was indeed unusual.

“Your Majesty, this servant did indeed know Consort Xian in the past, but the relationship was very shallow. There is no past to catch up on. This servant is absolutely loyal to Your Majesty; please, believe me.”

“No matter. It’s enough that you know her. Go and greet her. I will bring His Majesty over at that time. You just need to make a few intimate gestures.”

He must have understood my meaning, for he didn’t respond for a long time.

I pulled back the red cloth on the table and said to him, “Here is a thousand taels of silver. Once the matter is settled, I will have someone send you out of the palace. I’ve prepared a house for you twenty miles into the eastern suburbs. You can start a small business once you leave, can’t you?”

He hesitated for a long while before standing up and looking at me silently. His dilated dark pupils were full of disappointment. After a long pause, he said hoarsely, “This servant understands. This servant takes his leave.”

When Chi Yan next came to my palace, I deliberately had Chu Jue wait on us. Previously, fearing Chi Yan would misunderstand, I never let Chu Jue come near.

Sure enough, Chi Yan noticed his appearance immediately.

“I haven’t seen this eunuch in your palace before.”

I told Chu Jue to serve him food, and Chu Jue did so without a word.

“His Majesty rarely comes here, so naturally you wouldn’t know who is by my side. This little eunuch is called Chu Jue. He’s an old acquaintance of Sister Lin Yue. I only let him serve me because I saw how honest and dutiful he is.”

“Oh?” His interest was suddenly piqued. He looked Chu Jue over several more times, his expression gradually darkening.

“Where are you from?” he asked Chu Jue.

“This servant is from Yichuan.”

“You and Consort Xian are old acquaintances?”

Chu Jue knelt down, hurrying to defend himself. “This servant and Consort Xian… only knew each other. This servant did not know Consort Xian’s true identity at the time. I beg His Majesty’s forgiveness.”

The suspicion in Chi Yan’s eyes didn’t fade in the slightest; instead, his brow furrowed even deeper.

I poured him a cup of wine. “It’s quite strange, actually. Chu Jue’s face bears a slight resemblance to His Majesty’s. Has His Majesty noticed? Since Consort Xian knows Chu Jue, has she never mentioned him to His Majesty?”

He looked up and glared at me, then suddenly smashed the wine cup and stormed out in a rage.

I knew where he was going. He was going to question Lin Yue about whether she had treated him as a substitute.

Lin Yue didn’t love him that much. I could see it, and Chi Yan could feel it himself.

I picked up the wine cup from the floor and looked at the kneeling Chu Jue in high spirits. “Well done.”

“Your Majesty, doing this only hurts yourself in the end.” His expression was helpless, and his eyes actually held a trace of sympathy.

I looked away, not bothering to look at him. “Get out.”

He stood and said, “This servant takes his leave,” before respectfully withdrawing.

A sudden surge of resentment filled my heart, and I slammed the cup in my hand down. Now even a rootless dog of a servant was starting to pity me! What did he know!
It didn’t matter. Once it was done, Chi Yan would return to my side…

In the blink of an eye, the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet arrived.

I had already arranged for Chu Jue to fake a chance encounter with Lin Yue to stall for time. Lin Yue had yet to appear at the banquet, and Chi Yan’s expression was growing increasingly grim under the whispers of the imperial clansmen.

“Why hasn’t Consort Xian arrived yet?”

“Consort Xian is about to be named the Mother of the Nation, yet she still disregards the rules of Dayan. His Majesty has been far too indulgent by tolerating her time and again.”

“Perhaps Consort Xian is indisposed due to her pregnancy?”

“Even so, she should have sent someone to inform us. Such behavior shows a complete lack of respect for us!”

I sat to the side, leisurely enjoying the show. I planned to take Chi Yan out to clear his head from the wine when the time was right, where we would ‘happen’ to catch Lin Yue in a private meeting with a man-a man who happened to be a eunuch who looked remarkably like him.

How could a man with pride as fierce as Chi Yan’s possibly endure such a thing?

While they were arguing heatedly and I was lost in my pleasant thoughts, Zhi Hong suddenly crept over and tapped my shoulder. She leaned down and whispered, “Your Majesty, Chu Jue didn’t go.”

“What!”

I nearly bolted upright, hissing through gritted teeth, “Where is he?”

“He said he wants to see you.”

My perfect plan had actually been ruined by him!

Seeing that no one was paying attention to me, I left the banquet and returned to my palace. Chu Jue was standing under the peach blossom tree, waiting for me.

When he saw me arrive, he offered a faint, graceful smile.

I had told him never to smile in front of me!

I walked over and glared at him. “You dare to defy me?”

“This servant wouldn’t dare.” He looked at me with a calm expression. “I simply do not wish to do something I am unwilling to do.”

I sneered. “A mere eunuch-what do you think you are?”

He chuckled softly and reached out from his sleeve to catch a falling petal. He turned his hand over, and the petal fell to the ground anyway. For some reason, he looked a bit forlorn.

“Has Your Majesty ever considered that if this servant had gone today, I would not have lived to enjoy anything you’ve given me? Given His Majesty’s temperament, he would have killed me.”

I knew that, but so what?

“Didn’t you say you were utterly loyal to me? You aren’t even willing to do this small thing?”

Chu Jue walked toward me. He was about the same height as Chi Yan, but because he usually kept his back bent in a lowly posture, I hadn’t noticed. Now, standing tall and straight, he actually looked down at me just as Chi Yan did.

He raised his hand and plucked a stray petal from my hair crown, closing it in his palm. His face was cold yet handsome, and his gaze burned as he looked at me.

“Your Majesty, this servant’s life may be worthless to you, but it is all I have. I would do anything for you, but I do not want to die, so I was unwilling to go.”

Excuses! All excuses!

I pushed him away. “You did it for Lin Yue! You’re afraid Chi Yan will blame her, aren’t you? You like her too, don’t you!”

He stood still, watching me with a somber gaze, but he didn’t answer.

I knew it! They were all possessed. They had all fallen for Lin Yue. Every single one of them had gone mad, turned into fools, all in love with Lin Yue!

I was suddenly overcome by a sense of powerlessness. It felt as if no matter what I did, I would fail, while Lin Yue would be loved and protected even if she did nothing at all.

I didn’t know what to do. What could I possibly do to win Chi Yan back? The Chi Yan of the past was drifting further and further away from me, so far that I was starting to forget what he even looked like.

I turned around, feeling exhausted. “Just go.”

He remained silent for a long moment before answering, “This servant will go prepare tea and refreshments for Your Majesty.”

He wasn’t leaving.

Watching Chu Jue’s retreating figure, I suddenly felt that he was very much like Chi Yan. Before, I thought they only looked alike, but now I felt their personalities were similar too.

At the very least, both seemed affectionate toward me while being utterly heartless in reality.

My plan had failed, which meant Lin Yue’s coronation as Empress would proceed smoothly. She had stolen my father’s affection, stolen the honor of being the Lin Family’s daughter, stolen Chi Yan, stolen everything… and now, she was even stealing the position of Empress that had originally been promised to me.

***

“Jinrong, I intend to promote you to Noble Consort first, then have the Ministry of Rites prepare the ceremony for the Empress.”

I didn’t respond.

He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and whispered in my ear, “Jinrong, when I saw you and Chu Jue standing under the peach blossom tree on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, it suddenly reminded me of how we used to be.”

The “adultery” I had painstakingly tried to arrange for Lin Yue had resulted in Chi Yan seeing me with Chu Jue instead.

“His Majesty, Chu Jue and I are not…”

“I know.” He interrupted me with a low chuckle. “I want to treat you better. I don’t want to fail you, but I don’t want to fail Yue’er either. When I am not around, having Chu Jue by your side to keep you company is a comfort. I don’t mind.”

He didn’t mind…

He didn’t care…

Because he didn’t love me.

“Jinrong?” he called out. “Why are you crying?”

I turned around and met his panicked eyes. He looked as if he truly cared for me. If so, I would treat it as if he truly did.

I pressed my lips against his. He froze for a moment, then deepened the kiss.

At the height of passion, his low, husky voice drifted into my ear.

“…Xiao Tao, call me Ah Yan, won’t you?”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and whispered back into his ear.

“Ah Yan, I’m ready to let you go.”

Yes, it was time to let go.

He looked at me somewhat blankly, a flash of confusion crossing his eyes, but he quickly regained his clarity and brushed past my words without a reaction.